RIVAL Capital managers Craig Levein and Tony Mowbray joined forces today to express their sympathy for under-fire Scotland boss Berti Vogts.
There is intense pressure on the German to resign following the embarrassing midweek draw in Moldova which has left the Scots languishing in second-bottom spot in Group Five with just two points from the opening three World Cup qualifiers.
The Ge
rman is widely expected to be sacked early next week in the wake of such results, but their were words of comfort for Der Terrier from both Hibs boss Mowbray, and his Tynecastle counterpart Levein.
Mowbray insists it is up to all 12 SPL clubs to produce the players who can rekindle the nation’s pride.
But while not wanting to become embroiled in a discussion regarding the little German’s future, Mowbray said: "Berti has to know what his plan is, if he knows where he is going and if the plan is going right.
"The frustration for him, though, is that the development of his players is in the hands of 12 other managers and it is down to Craig [Levein], Martin [O’Neill], Alex [McLeish], myself - everyone - to develop football players, to make them better players so that when they go to Scotland they are talented and can express themselves."
Any hopes of Vogts now steering the team to the finals in his homeland in 2006 are all but dead with the Scottish Football Association looking set to bow to the Tartan Army’s demands and boot him out.
From Levein, however, came appreciation of the difficult position in which the national manager now finds himself.
"I have sympathy for Berti Vogts," said Levein.
"In fact the higher up managers get and the higher profiles they have, the greater sympathy I have for them.
"I understand the pressure and nature of the job but it is not my position to comment on Berti Vogts as a manager because to be honest I get annoyed when people comment on my position."
Mowbray, too, is well aware that Vogts is highly vulnerable at present - but insisted the threat of the sack was one which hung over every football manager, himself included.
He said: "Somewhere down the line it could come my way. If we were to lose five games on the trot it is not going to be ‘how great is Tony Mowbray.’
"It’s part of the game, you have to live with it and keep doing what you believe is right, the only way out of it is to win games."
To that extent Mowbray revealed he isn’t the most fanatical of newspaper readers, saying: "I am a person who wants to know what I want to do and how I want to do it.
"I am not going to let newspapers influence me. I will succeed or fail doing it my way, not by newspapers trying to influence me by asking why did I pick that particular player and not another."
Meanwhile, Mowbray revealed that his injury list is beginning to ease with veteran defender Gary Smith, who has been out of action since the end of August with an Achilles tendon injury, has now returned to training as has on-loan Chelsea midfielder Craig Rocastle who was expected to be on the bench for today’s game against Dundee United.
